4 Reasons To Go After Your Dream 'Dead-End' Job

Across the globe, our cultures seem to be moving further and
further toward the glorification of the drive for power and
wealth.

We have a lot of little sayings about the downsides of the “rat
race” and “keeping up with the Joneses”—but at the end of the
day, we need only look in the mirror to see a perfect example of
the people we’re mocking.

I’ve decided to pursue a life teaching English, German and
whatever other languages I’ll master in the future. There is
little to no prospect of “moving up” since I don’t plan to stay
anywhere permanently, and I’ll probably spend a lot of time
working for far-below-average pay.

So why would someone do something so ridiculous? Here’s
my argument for abandoning the career ladder and instead pursuing
a so-called “dead-end” career:

Our society likes to say that a well-adjusted person “works to
live” and doesn’t “live to work,” but I say that’s totally
backwards. If the part of your day that you spend at work doesn’t
count as “living,” then half of your life will be irrecoverably
lost.

Instead, find the life you want to live and then figure
out how to make a living from it. As a linguist, I’m
obsessed with figuring out the systems and semantic intricacies
of languages, and nothing fascinates me more than going off and
studying them wherever I go. My career choice gives me the
ability to do what I want to do for fun, and to get paid enough
to live for it.

2. Getting to be different

There’s something appealing and satisfying about leaving
behind the pursuit of social status and trading it in for the
pursuit of personal perfection.
Beware, though, that abandoning the eternal hunt for power and
wealth can make you look rather alien in an increasingly suburban
world.

3. The end of performance anxiety

I am not ambitious. There—I’ve said it in the simplest terms. I’m
considerably more interested in making my work acceptable to
myself than I am in making it impressive to my superiors.

Refusing to kiss up to one’s superiors is a luxury reserved only
for those who’ve resigned themselves to the place where they are
now. Luckily, I’m already there. I don’t need upward
mobility, because my current momentum will already carry me to or
beyond where I want to be.

4. Financial independence

How can making less money give you greater financial
independence? The answer lies once again in social
status. Many of the most expensive things we buy (like
nice cars, large houses with big, green lawns and entertainment
items) are luxury items that serve as a black hole for our incomes.

There is, of course, a certain level of income needed to live
while being financially independent, but that number rises and
falls depending on where you live and your own perceived social
status.

What do you think? Do you see the benefits of pursuing a
“dead-end” career?